Varanasi 5 – Spectacular Sunrise boat ride on Ganga!

Sunrise boat ride on Ganga in Varanasi is a spiritual experience in itself. In this fifth part of Varanasi series, we will take you along the boat ride.

When he bid good bye after the lovely experience of Ganga Aarti on the previous day, Mukesh, our guide, had asked us to be ready by 5.30 AM to go for Sunrise boat ride on Ganga. We had heard a lot about this “must do” thing in Varanasi and were naturally excited. We had asked the hotel guys to give us bed tea – never ask for coffee in North India – at 5 AM.

Tea arrived promptly and we were ready in the reception by 5.30 when Mukesh joined us. We were to board the boat at Assi Ghat opposite the hotel. We get down to the ghat and the boat man arranged by Mukesh says that there is lot of slush on the ghat and requests us to go to neighbouring Tulsi ghat where he would bring the boat.

Tulsi ghat is five minutes’ walk from the hotel and we get into the boat there. Tulsi ghat named after Saint Tulsi das whose house and small temple is on the ghat from where he wrote the epic poem “Ram Charit Manas”.

Sunrise boat ride on Ganga in Varanasi is a memorable experience and not be missed. It gives a glimpse of morning life along the ghats in Varanasi. If you are lucky – as we were – you can see stunning views of sun rising in the eastern horizon.

These boats are slow moving ones with oars. Each boat has a boat man and his assistant. They move very slowly and help us to see stunning sun rise over the horizon with Ganga in the foreground, the panoramic views of ghats and the morning life on ghats closely.

Ganga is Varanasi and Varanasi is Ganga. For locals it is the lifeline. For devout pilgrims she is “Ganga Mayya – the mother who will wash away all the sins”. We are fascinated by the energy of the people, their beliefs and devotion to god. We could see people from all walks of life gathering on the ghat to worship the sun as he came up in the eastern horizon.

It is believed that worshiping Sun as he rises after having bath in Ganga is very auspicious. There were people who come here in the morning to give “Tarpan – offering of holy waters” to their ancestors at sun rise. We could also see many who had come to these ghats just to take bath in Ganga and purify themselves.

Join us as we take you on the Sunrise boat ride on Ganga…………

Please click on the pictures for enlarged view.

First glimpse of the sun…..

We start our ride on the river….

Dufferin bridge over Ganga

A glorious sight of Sunrise over the river!

Boats anchored near the ghats…..

You can check out our short video on the Sunrise Boat Ride on Ganga on You Tube here

About the author

Poorna & Brinda

We are Brinda and Poorna from Bengaluru, the “Silicon city” or “Garden city” of India.

We travel together. We caught the travel bug 20 years back. On our honey moon, we traveled over the sea, in the train, by bus and in an aircraft! Our adventures probably started in that year. It continues, ever since.